I was shocked when my nipple turned black and fell off while I was breastfeeding my son | The Sun
A MUM has revealed how her nipple turned black and fell off when she was breastfeeding her son.
Brooke said she had heard all the horror stories of mums that had tried to feed their babies, only for them to not latch on or for the pain to be unbearable.
Taking to TikTok, she explained that she was 15-years-old when she had just given birth and was trying to get her baby to feed.
Initially, she said she felt as though he had a 'good latch' and added that she had spoken to a lactation counsellor and had felt 'really positive' about the prospect of feeding her baby.
She explained: "Then I noticed the latch wasn't so good.
"My nipple started to turn black at the base and white at the tip and that's a signal for bad blood flow.
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"There's no blood flow getting through the nipple so that's a dead nipple and dead tissue."
Brooke then went on to explain how she latched her baby boy on, with him nursing for a short while until he suddenly stopped.
Recalling her story in a clip that has now had over 1.1million views she said: "I'm looking down and he's kind of choking.
"My nipple broke off and he had it in his mouth. I start to panic and freak out. I don't know what the hell is going on.
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"Luckily I was with my mum and my sister and they are like 'hurry let's get the nipple and put it back on'."
What happened to Brooke is a health condition referred to as a nipple vasospasm, which occurs when the blood vessels that supply the nipple go into spasm – therefore reducing flow.
The mum added that she then went on to rinse the nipple in water before putting it back on and calling the advise nurse.
The advisers told her that if the nipple is still alive and has enough blood flow in it then it can actually reattach itself.
"They told me to keep that band aid on", she added.
"That's what I did, my nipple is still not perfect today, but it's still here.
"That was the last day I ever breastfed that child.
"When I learnt that breastfeeding was painful and hard to adjust to, I never knew that my nipple couple literally detach," she said.
Brooke suffered from both vasospasm and necrosis – which is the death of body tissue.
Vasospasm affects the flow of milk to the nipple and medics said that it can occur in response to nipple trauma if the baby is not well attached to the breast.
It can also occur due to Raynaud's disease.
Women who experience a vasospasm while breastfeeding are likely to suffer with intense burning and a throbbing pain.
Those who have poor circulation are more likely to suffer, as are those who are below the average height and weight.
People who smoke cigarettes are also more likely to experience vasospasms as nicotine constricts the blood vessels.
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